Topics

Twenty-five state lawmakers flew to Maui in November to attend a conference that was partly funded by a group of special interests, but it was not until Tuesday that all of their identities were made public when they were required to file annual gift reports. The nonprofit Independent Voter Project, the sponsor of the conference, pays an average of $2,500 in expenses, including $350-a-night hotel cost -- for each legislator attending its conference at the Fairmont Kea Lani Hotel in Wailea. The group gets its money from interests including Occidental Petroleum Corp., the Western State Petroleum Assn., Eli Lilly & Co., the Altria tobacco firm, the California Cable and Telecommunications...

Related "Ben Hueso" Articles

Twenty-five state lawmakers flew to Maui in November to attend a conference that was partly funded by a group of special interests, but it was not until Tuesday that all of their identities were made public when they were required to file annual gift...

California lawmakers are wading into an unfolding scandal at the Public Utilities Commission.
Members of a legislative panel are expected to pummel regulators with questions about a growing scandal at the powerful state agency. They're eager to learn...

Already under investigation by state and federal law enforcement officials, cozy relations between the Public Utility Commission and the state's investor-owned electricity and natural gas companies are getting more attention in Sacramento.
The state...

A day after Antonio Villaraigosa said he would not run for the U.S. Senate in 2016, Latino legislators were scrambling Wednesday to find another candidate who might represent their interests in the contest.
Members of the Legislative Latino...

Antonio Villaraigosa’s decision not to run for the U.S. Senate next year has already become a hot topic of discussion at a Wine Country policy retreat by the California Legislative Latino Caucus.
The former mayor of Los Angeles is scheduled to have a...

The state purchased $540,000 worth of new Ford Fusion Hybrids and other cars for legislators over the last 18 months, prompting criticism from taxpayer activists who call the vehicles unnecessary political perks given at a time when many Californians...

As former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa weighs a U.S. Senate bid, the California Latino Legislative Caucus on Tuesday said a Latino candidate in the mix would attract more Democratic voters to the polls for the election next year.
...

State Sen. Ben Hueso (D-San Diego) on Thursday entered a plea bargain in which prosecutors lowered charges of drunk driving to a lesser misdemeanor, allowing him to avoid any possibility of jail time.
Hueso was sentenced to three years informal probation...

When Debbie Manning makes a request, California's most powerful politicians usually obey.
As a sergeant-at-arms for the California Senate for three decades, Manning has often been sent to round up tardy lawmakers from their Capitol offices and escort...

Backed by politicians from both parties, California Gov. Jerry Brown brought his whirlwind campaign to San Diego on Wednesday to urge passage of Proposition 1, the $7.5-billion water bond.
Brown made no mention of the fact he is seeking reelection on the...

In its third editorial endorsing Republican congressional candidate Carl DeMaio over Democratic incumbent Scott Peters, the U-T San Diego newspaper had one description of DeMaio that not even his many critics could dispute: "One of a kind."
...

Darrell Steinberg took the helm of the state Senate six years ago with the global economy in a meltdown that choked off tax revenue, causing the state budget deficit to balloon to $42 billion.
It took Steinberg and other state leaders four years that...

Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a measure Wednesday that would have barred employers from discriminating against unemployed job seekers.
The bill by Assemblyman Ian Calderon (D-Whittier) would have prohibited employers, including the state government, from...

For the first time in its history, California will establish statewide management of water pumped from the ground, under legislation signed Tuesday by Gov. Jerry Brown.
The package of regulations was heralded by supporters as a long-overdue step in...

State Sen. Ben Hueso (D-San Diego) faces two misdemeanor charges after his arrest last month on suspicion of drunk driving, the Sacramento district attorney's office said Monday.
Hueso was charged with one count of driving under the influence of...

Saving the beleaguered Salton Sea will be expensive, but allowing it to continue deteriorating will cost even more in terms of dollars, unemployment, property values and damage to public health, according to a study released Wednesday by the Pacific...

SACRAMENTO -- The state Senate Education Committee recommended Wednesday that California voters be asked to repeal Proposition 227, the 1998 initiative that requires public school instruction in English.
The proposal to restore bilingual education...

In truth, I wouldn't know a smartphone "kill switch" from a typewriter shift key. But I do know strong special interest influence when I smell it.
I'm not saying that every state senator who voted against a bill to require kill switches as...

California's poorest county wants a bigger share of the state's $16-billion wholesale electricity market.
Imperial County, which stretches east of San Diego County to Arizona, is seeking a special deal from the Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown that would...

Assemblyman Jeff Gorell was in his Capitol office Thursday afternoon when a staffer walked in with a list of new proposals that were being wrapped into the state budget.
One of the items was $2.7 million for a pool in Calexico, a small city on the border...